Disclaimer: I dont own Primeval.
A/N: This is an AU at the end of the third series. :) And yes, it is Connor/Becker.
It went against everything inside Becker to go follow Connor, Abby, and Danny through the anomaly. They were looking for Abby's brother- he knew that- but rules were there for a reason. And this rule he completely agreed with.
You didn't go through the anomalies. End of discussion.
But if he didn't go, three of the main team would be going in without any type of defense. It was his job to protect them- even if it meant following them through that damn thing.
He knew what he had to do the moment he heard the future Predators coming toward them. The only possible way Connor, Abby, and Danny would be able to have a chance to return would be if he made sure the Predators were far, far away from them
So that's what he did. He ran off, making sure to attract the Predators attention to him, leading them far away from the rest of the group. He fully expected not to reunite with them again. He expected not to even make it back to the anomaly.
He was wrong on both accounts.
He had hidden in an old car, positioning himself so that he would be able to shoot out of the sunroof if needed. And they had found him. They were all as shocked as he was- obviously, they expected never to see him again. They got to the anomaly, Danny, Abby, and Abby's brother going through first- Becker really should live the kids name if he was going to know about all of this.
Connor stopped, looking to the side with a frown on his face. "Connor!" Becker snapped, staring at the younger man with annoyance. "What are you doing?"
"There's someone over there." Connor said, taking a step away from the anomaly.
Becker turned to face him instantly, following his gaze. "I don't see anything, Connor. Go through the anomaly."
"But- there really was someone-"
"Connor, we really can't do anything about it now. Please, just go." Becker replied, scanning the area once again.
Connor let out a sigh, glancing toward the area he had seen the person once more, than walked through the anomaly. Becker let out a relieved sigh, quickly following behind Connor-
Only to slam into the younger man who was standing there in shock. "Connor? What is-" Becker cut off as he looked up, seeing what Connor was staring at. Abby and Danny were talking and laughing, Abby's brother nowhere in sight. Both of them were clean, no blood, dirt, or anything wrong with their appearance.
But it was the people beside them that had Becker's mouth hanging open. Abby's arm was wrapped around the trim waist of a man Becker had only seen in pictures- Stephen Hart.
And Professor Cutter was smiling at Danny, his hand entwined with Jenny's.
"Finally!" Abby said, catching sight of them and smiling brightly. "What happened to you two? It was just a quick look." She frowned suddenly, taking in their appearance. "What happened?"
Connor was still staring with his mouth hanging open, so Becker decided he should answer. "We were attacked. By giant insects?" He asked questioningly, a frown on his face as he looked at Abby for any hint of remembrance.
Professor stepped forward, a frown on his face. "Insects? But-"
"Professor Cutter?" Connor asked, his voice cracking in disbelief. "But you- you're dead."
The Professor's eyebrows rose, "Sorry?"
"He's right." Becker informed them, moving in front of Connor slowly. "When we left, you were dead. And so was Hart. And Jenny no longer worked for the ARC-"
"Jenny?" Stephen Hart cut in, coming forward with a frown on his handsome face.
"Jenny." Becker said, motioning to the woman standing in front of them.
Jenny's eyebrows rose. "My name is Claudia."
Becker sucked in a quick breath, remembering the reports he had read. Claudia- who no one had remembered but Cutter said used to exist.
"Bugger." Connor muttered. "I think we need to explain."
"I agree with that." Professor Cutter said, sharing a quick look with the rest of the team. "Lets go back to Headquarters and we'll talk about it."
"Headquarters?" Connor questioned with a frown. "Do you not have the ARC?"
"The ARC?" Abby questioned.
"Anomaly Research Center." Becker explained with a frown. "ARC for short."
Stephen and Cutter both looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "Right, we should go."
They started to head out of the Parking Garage, leaving the Special Forces men to watch the anomaly, when Connor stopped. "Aren't we going to lock the anomaly?" He asked.
Everyone froze. "Lock the anomaly?" Jen- Claudia asked in interest.
Connor blinked in surprise. "Have I not built that yet, here?"
"Wait, you found a way to lock the anomalies?" Professor Cutter asked quickly, eyes narrowed in calculation.
Connor nodded, looking at Becker in confusion. "Yeah, so nothing goes in and nothing comes out."
"We need one of those." Abby commented, shooting Connor a small smile.
"I'm going to call Lester, explain what has happened." Claudia said, giving Professor Cutter a quick kiss. "See you back at Headquarters." She sent Connor and Becker one last short smile before pulling out a mobile and heading to a car Becker assumed must be hers.
He watched as Cutter, Stephen, and Abby walked to Cutters truck. "Uh, do we go with you?" Connor called, motioning to himself and Becker.
The three of them exchanged a glance, frowning. "You guys came in your car, but I guess you won't know where you're going." Abby finally said.
"They can follow us." Stephen told her, nodding toward them.
But Becker's mind was fixed on something else. "Did you just say our car? Like its both of ours?"
Connor turned to him with wide eyes, then to the other three- who were once again exchanging shocked and confused looks. "Um, the two of you have been together for the last year. You live together."
Becker's mouth dropped open, and he heard Connor choke beside him. "Wh- what?" Connor finally said, his voice higher than normal.
Professor Cutter rubbed his eyes, shaking his head. "I have a feeling this is going to be a long conversation. Just get in, we can get your car later."
Becker turned to Connor, motioning for him to climb in first beside Abby in the back. Connor steadily ignored Becker's eyes, a blush staining his cheeks. Becker felt a small smirk tugging his lips at the other man's obvious embarrassment.
They arrived to a building Becker had never seen only a few minutes later. "This is where we came when we started." Connor muttered to him, frowning at the building. "Before the ARC."
Becker nodded, sliding out of the truck and motioning for Connor to stay beside him. Claudia was standing at the entrance, waiting for them, with Lester at her side. "We thought we could go into the conference room." Claudia told them, her gaze jumping from Connor to Becker and back again.
"Yes, I would like to know about this…anomaly locking devise." Lester said, motioning for them to follow him.
They all sat in a bright room a moment later, everyone staring at Connor and Becker anxiously. "We're ready whenever you are." Lester said, the familiar edge of sarcasm in his voice.
"Uh, right." Connor said, frowning slightly. "I guess I just don't know where to start with everything."
"Start from the very beginning." Professor Cutter said, "That way we can compare and see what exactly has changed."
Connor let out a deep sigh. "Right, well, it all started in the Forest of Dean…" Connor went on to explain everything, to the very first anomaly, all the way up until the day Professor Cutter went into the future with Captain Ryan and Helen. "That's when things get a bit odd. See, none of us knew a Claudia." Connor said, nodding to the woman. "But when Cutter came back through, he was insistent that somehow they had changed something and made her…not the same person. At first we thought she didn't exist, but-"
Becker cleared his throat. "That comes later. As far as they knew, Cutter had just returned from this anomaly, announcing that there used to be a woman that worked with them and now didn't exist."
Connor blushed, nodding. "Right. Anyway, after they returned, Helen also announced that she and Stephen had been sleeping together before she disappeared."
Professor Cutters eyebrows shot up. "But surely I knew that? Stephen told me that way before Helen came back."
Connor slowly shook his head. "Well, that's one thing that changed, then. Stephen never told and Helen just announced it- in front of everyone. Tore their friendship to bits. Cutter didn't trust him anymore."
Stephen glanced at Connor with wide eyes. "What happened?"
Connor swallowed hard. "As far as I know, somehow Helen returned without us knowing and you- or Stephen- started sleeping with her again. She filled his head with so many things- things that weren't true. He started fighting against Cutter in everything- until it got to the point that he was asked to leave the ARC."
Stephen sat back in his chair with wide eyes and Connor continued quickly. "But that isn't all." He explained about Jenny, how Cutter always called her Claudia. How she looked exactly like Claudia. He explained Leek- about being locked up, about Helen. And then about Stephen's death. "Cutter said that he punched him, knocked him out of the way, than entered the room. They couldn't get the doors back open." Connor said, blinking back tears. Abby was crying openly, clutching Stephens arm, while everyone else in the room looked pale.
"It was shortly after that that Becker was brought in." Connor said, motioning to the silent man beside him.
"Wait- so you honestly have never met me before now?" Stephen demanded, his eyes staring at Becker with intensity.
Becker slowly shook his head. "All I know is what I've read in reports."
Stephen winced, sitting back with a scowl, and Connor decided to keep talking quickly. He explained Sarah- who they hadn't met- and they explained Danny. Danny worked on the team here, he was like Abby or Connor. Connor explained that he had become their leader. Than he explained about Professor Cutter. About Helen. There was a gasp as Connor described going after the Professor, of finding him dying. Of Helen shooting her husband.
"Anyway, Jack had moved in with Abby and he found that anomaly. So, Danny, Abby, Becker, and I went through to get him back." Connor said, his throat growing dry as he spoke. "Danny found him in an old church- he had fallen through the floor and had a broken wrist. So Danny went down to get him while Abby, Becker, and I waited out front. Then the insects started coming for us…so Becker distracted them." He paused there, turning to Becker with a frown. "I thought you were dead."
Becker shrugged. "Keep talking."
Connor rolled his eyes. "Anyway, we all got back together and Abby, Jack, and Danny went through the anomaly. I was going to go through when-"
He paused, a frown on his face. "I thought I saw someone. A person. But Becker didn't see them, and when I looked again they were gone. So we came back through the anomaly…and found all of you."
There was silence at the end of that statement. Everyone seemed to be trying to figure out where to start, how to take in the information they had been given. "Well, up until Claudia disappearing, everything seems almost the same." Professor Cutter started. "Except we didn't move to another building- there is no ARC- and I didn't stop teaching. I came back through the anomaly and Claudia was there."
He smiled at the woman, who blushed lightly. "And you said things got really bad after Helen announced about her and Stephen. I already knew that, so it didn't affect anything. And Leek- well, as far as I know he doesn't exist. He's certainly not on this project. Which means none of that ever happened. And Stephen certainly didn't die."
Stephen waved slightly, as if to prove he wasn't dead, and even Becker had to crack a smile. "I guess Stephen and I never…in your timeline." Abby said, frowning. "We've been together for almost three years."
Becker looked at Connor sharply, knowing how he felt about the woman, but Connor just smiled at them happily. "Great."
Professor Cutter rolled his eyes. "How we met Danny is the same. Except it was Claudia and not Jenny. And you know I didn't die. No one has seen Helen in over a year now. I have no idea what she's up too."
"You said Becker and I…" Connor muttered, blushing brightly. "Uh, how did that happen?"
Becker stared at the younger man in shock as Cutter, Stephen, and Danny chuckled. Abby and Claudia were giggling into their hands, and Becker swore he saw Lester fighting back a smile. "You two went for drinks one night after work." Abby said with a smile. "Been dating ever since. Moved in together a couple of months ago."
"Right." Connor said, avoiding their eyes, "And, uh, where is that, exactly?"
More chuckles. "I'll show you later." Abby promised, a sparkle in her eye.
"We need to know who that person was you saw." Claudia said firmly, her face becoming serious. "Because whoever it was…they changed all of this. That is the only thing that was different between you two and the other three. Something had to happen during those few minutes."
Becker frowned, staring at the faces in front of him. It was a new world- one he didn't know.
He knew he shouldn't have gone through that anomaly.